


an angel ain't what i need

by sehunslefteyebrow



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending, M/M, Minor Huang Zi Tao | Z.Tao/Oh Sehun, Minor Injuries, Minor Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:00:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sehunslefteyebrow/pseuds/sehunslefteyebrow
Summary: Kris would give up the life he’s living if it meant Junmyeon could live the life he was meant to.
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Kudos: 12





	an angel ain't what i need

**Author's Note:**

> space opera au based on the mv for sanctuary by joji
> 
> title taken from sanctuary
> 
> baby’s first fic and not beta’d, please be nice :)

Junmyeon’s head hurts like a bitch. He’ll definitely need a few stitches, maybe get Yixing to take a look at the probably broken ribs he’s got. He’s back to back with Kris, solidity to remind him that he’s still alive. Barely.

Someone charges at him from his left. Blindly, he swings his leg high and feels the hit connect like a crack of thunder. Kicked someone square in the chest, he figures. He’s got this, Junmyeon fights like he was born to do it. 

The Red Force has wanted them dead for years. Junmyeon’s wanted them dead for just as long. This fight though, Junmyeon can tell something’s gonna happen. Something big, he can just feel it. 

“HYUNG!” 

His head whips to his right where he sees Sehun slide him a pistol and point up ahead. It’s him, the Red Force bastard. _Suhø_ , they call him. Head to toe red, a scar running under his left eye from his last run-in with EXO. Hair somehow still perfectly coiffed into two spikes despite the tooth and nail fight going down around them. And conveniently, a blaster pointed straight at his chest.

Junmyeon curses under his breath and dives to the side just in time, the shot clipping his tricep. _Fuck, that hurts_. He reminds himself to thank Sehun later as he picks up the pistol and readies his shot. 

From his peripheral, he watches Kris raise his own pistol and aim at Suhø. Except shit, he’s not even close. Even from this distance, Junmyeon knows the shot won’t connect. Kris fires, and misses spectacularly. It ricochets off a rock behind him and he realizes that it wasn’t a mistake. It was an opening. Suhø turns to look at the rock and Junmyeon gets him square in the stomach in that split second. A little low, but he’ll have to improvise. 

Suhø drops his blaster in panic, turns tail and runs. _Fucking coward_ , Junmyeon thinks to himself. He locks eyes with Kris and they both sprint after him. 

The terrain is rough, but this is their home turf. They weave in and out of boulders, know exactly where to step. They gain on him fast and Kris sweeps one long leg to bring Suhø down.

They have him cornered, Junmyeon pinning his chest with his boot to keep him down, and he knows it’s only a matter of time. “You’ll never fucking win,” Suhø spits. “Even when we’re gone, even when we’re dead, you’ll fucking remember us.” 

Kris walks up to him and plucks the subject of these damn wars from Suhø’s belt. A white cube, small and unassuming, fits in his palm comfortably. The cocky bastard didn’t even bother to keep it hidden, as powerful as it is. 

Chest heaving, blood dripping, Suhø stares Junmyeon down. “Mark my words, Kim, this fight isn’t over.”

Junmyeon doesn’t say a word, simply kicks him off the edge and turns to walk off before Suhø’s even really falling. It’s done. It’s finally fucking done.

☾

_One year later_

The LED lights flicker on at 7 am every morning in the quarters Junmyeon and Kris share, making Junmyeon stir in his cramped sleep pod. He’s learned to ignore the lights, turning over to shade his eyes and fall back asleep. There’s no need, really, to be up so early. So he never is. Kris is up every morning though, 7 am sharp. 

Around noon (but who’s keeping track) Junmyeon hops out of bed and lazily dons his space suit. He doesn’t even bother zipping it all the way up, tying the sleeves around his waist instead. He hasn’t had to leave the ship in a year and he knows today won’t be the exception. 

“Myeon?” Kris pops his head into their quarters and is greeted with silence. By this time, Junmyeon is probably swinging his feet somewhere on the ship. Everyday he picks a new place, but there’s really no difference here or there. Kris needs to discuss something with him, though, so he heads out to find him.

The rest of the ship is in a state of complacency when Kris makes his rounds, as always. 

He pads quietly towards the cockpit and hears the soft beeping of buttons before he even opens the door. There are hundreds of dials, colorful and bright like rows of candy buttons. There are two seats in the cockpit, one for their pilot Minseok and one for his copilot Luhan. Atop the dash, Minseok has once again dozed off and Kris shakes him awake. 

“Wake the fuck up and actually steer us, dude,” he says. It’s the first time it’s happened today, and it definitely won’t be the last. 

Minseok lifts his head and yawns. “Come on man, it’s fine. There’s nowhere to be right now anyways.”

Kris can’t blame him. He’s right, after all, there’s nowhere to steer the hunk of metal. No destination. They’re drifting more than flying. Luhan sits in the copilot chair beside him, feet propped up on the console and lazily penning in a game of sudoku. He doesn’t even like sudoku. With a sigh, Kris turns on his heel and walks out.

As he wanders through the corridors trying to find Junmyeon, he sees a lot of nothing. The other EXO members either nap, read the same damn books, play the same damn games, or just do nothing at all. It’s dead quiet. 

On his search for Junmyeon, he sees it. The cube. He remembers how it felt in his hands, he remembers how he killed a man for it. They dedicated their entire fucking lives for that cube, and now that they have it, it’s just there. A fancy paperweight, if anything. He keeps walking.

Kris finds Junmyeon in a storage room but decides to watch from afar first. Honestly, he isn’t watching much. Junmyeon’s sitting quietly, a bowl of cereal balanced in his left hand, swinging his feet. To and fro. Cereal getting soggy. It doesn’t matter, he wouldn’t have eaten it anyways. His eyes are unfocused, mouth slack, mind somewhere and nowhere at the same time. He holds his favorite switchblade in his right hand, flicking it open and closing it again. Mindless.

It hurts. It fucking hurts Kris to see it, so he walks away. He forgot what he wanted to talk to Junmyeon about anyway.

☾

_Chanyeol elbowed Kris, probably a little too hard to be in friendly competition, but he didn’t mind._

_“Not cool, you fucker!” Chanyeol yelled. He was always a little too much. Elbowed people a little too hard. Yelled a little too loud. Played a little too competitively. It was endearing, though._

_They’re tied 2-2 in their racing game and while he knows he could win, Kris decides to throw the last race. He drifts a little late, spins into the grass, and loses just enough time to make it look like he’s still really trying to win. He’s not, of course._

_Chanyeol wins by a hair, and whoops so loud Kris cringes. Inside he’s smiling though, and he thinks it’s worth it._

That was a year ago. Now Chanyeol has lost his competitive side, lost his fire. He sits for hours in front of their shared TV, selects a game, plays for a bit, then closes it out and changes games. Over and over, clearly not satisfied, clearly craving something more. Kris wishes he could give him that push, but he doesn't know how.

☾

A couple weeks later, Kris catches Junmyeon staring at the cube. His hand is hovering, almost as if he’s afraid to touch it. When he hears Kris approach, though, he snatches his hand back and stuffs it in his right back pants pocket. Strange. He chooses to think nothing of it.

☾

_Thursdays were karaoke nights. Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Luhan insisted they have them at least once a week, probably would have done them everyday if the other nine didn’t object to the idea of daily karaoke. Kyungsoo, shy as he is, was his most brilliant self when he was singing on Thursdays._

_Every time, the three would start singing, confident and loud, goading the others to join them. It would take a couple drinks each, some more than others, to let themselves go and start to belt. It took Tao maybe half a beer, but Junmyeon would knock back 3 or more before he let himself sing._

_Kris was never one to sing, but he loved to people-watch. He loved the way Junmyeon carried his voice, clear and bright even several drinks in. No matter how loud or how flashy the others would sing (and they were good singers, don’t get him wrong) Kris would always listen to Junmyeon. Something about him was just fascinating._

Kris would suffer through daily karaoke if it meant he could hear Junmyeon sing just one more time. Hell, he would do it to hear anyone even hum again. The only humming he ever hears now is the buzz of the ship’s LEDs.

☾

The next day, Junmyeon is swinging his feet again. To and fro, back and forth. Cereal soggy, knife in hand. He’s gawking at the cube, not saying a thing. Barely even blinking. The _shnk_ of the knife opening is faint but it drives Kris mad. He has to walk away, he can’t fucking stand the noise anymore.

☾

One dead night, maybe 2 or 3 am (who knows, or cares even) Kris stumbles out of his quarters to get to the bathroom. He passes by the cube, faintly glowing. Huh, he hadn’t even known it lit up like that. He approaches it carefully, and something in his peripheral glints and catches his attention.

It’s Junmyeon’s switchblade. _That’s odd,_ Kris thinks. _He always keeps this on him_. He picks it up, turns it over in his hands, appreciates the weight of it. His hands are a little too big to hold it properly, but then again it was specially made for Junmyeon. The handle is finished walnut and the blade is gunmetal gray, beautiful and polished. It makes him remember.

_“You think you can beat me, space cowboy?” Junmyeon threw Kris That Look over his shoulder before shooting his target. A perfect bullseye, of course._

_“I thought I told you not to call me that, space princess,” Kris countered before he took his shot. Damn, only a 9._

_“Looks like it’s a draw then, huh? The names I mean, not the scores. That one’s clear, I think.” He threw an insufferable wink back at him. Kris pretended to gag, but he secretly loved it. Loved him._

_Kris bumped his hip against Junmyeon’s, but he’s so tall he just about hits his waist. “I taught you how to shoot and this is my thanks?”_

_“The student overtakes the master,” Junmyeon says with a laugh. God, that laugh is beautiful. He pulls his switchblade from his back right pocket, flicks it open, and throws it at the target effortlessly. A fucking perfect 10. “Now it’s your turn to keep up.”_

_They stayed up that night, looking out the windows of the ship way later than they should’ve. The two were a little tipsy, having snuck a little of Luhan’s nice whiskey for themselves._

_“All of us together, living this life, it’s like fate, don’t you think,” Junmyeon said with a swig from the whiskey. “I’m so goddamn lucky to be on this flying brick with you guys of all people.”_

_Kris pursed his lips a little then answered, “Well I don’t really believe in fate. That’s all bullshit. My life is what I want it to be.”_

_“How pragmatic of you as always, cowboy,” Junmyeon giggled. “How like you to never have any fun.” He was giggling like a child now. Kris thought it was cute._

_“Well here I am, having fun with you,” Kris said as he poked Junmyeon’s side. It elicited another giggle. “And isn’t that enough?” he smiled._

_Junmyeon snuggled up to his side and hugged Kris tight. A reminder that everything was real. “Of course it’s enough. It always has been, and it always will.”_

He loves Junmyeon, he _really_ fucking does. The weight of the switchblade, the sound of Junmyeon lightly snoring in the room over has Kris thinking. He has an idea, hatched in the dark by the glow of the cube. He pockets the switchblade and grabs the cube as he considers his plan. 

Foolish, yes. Dangerous, of course. But necessary? He absolutely thinks so.

☾

The ship is in ruins. Jongin is concussed, a nasty welt forming on his temple, Kyungsoo by his side trying to calm him down and get him to talk. Baekhyun is bleeding heavily, his arm slashed in multiple places nearly to the bone as Yixing desperately tries to stop the blood. Minseok is preparing the boosters in the ship, slow to warm up from a year of disuse. By his side, Chanyeol helps, sitting in Luhan’s former seat.

“Where is Kris?” Junmyeon screeches; he’s in near hysterics, desperately looking for a sign of him. Something. He runs to their shared quarters and can’t find him. Can’t find anything. On his bed, he finds his switchblade, edge drenched in blood. Junmyeon can’t fucking breathe. He’s already assuming the worst.

Amidst the chaos, Junmyeon hears a signal beep. He whips around, trying to find the source of the sound. His duffel bag. He sprints over, unzips it and throws the contents out. He doesn’t care about the mess, he just cares about one thing right now. 

He finds his communicator, miraculously still charged after an entire year forgotten at the bottom of his duffel. He punches the on button and the video feed comes through. He holds his breath. 

It’s Kris. 

At least, he thinks it is. Maybe-Kris is sitting half in the dark, only his right side visible in the minimal light. He can’t tell where he is.

“Kris? Where the fuck are you?” Junmyeon is screaming now, absolutely terrified. _It’s Red Force_ , he thinks. _They’ve fucking got him. It’s over._

“Yeah, it was me. I hurt them.”

“Who? What the fuck Kris, what are you talking about?”

“Jongin. Baekhyun.”

There’s a long beat of silence. Kris moves into the light fully, and Luhan and Tao appear behind him from either side. Junmyeon wants to vomit.

There’s a cut under each of Kris’s left eye. It’s too fresh. It’s too deep. Junmyeon thinks he can see bone. It looks hauntingly like the one Suhø sported the last time they fought.

“I… I had to. I’m sorry. I took an escape pod and left,” Kris leans back into the darkness so that his left side is hidden again. He’s not even remorseful, just slightly ashamed.

“Why… why, Kris,” Junmyeon whispers. He’s shaking in horror, in shock. “WHY, Kris? Why would you fucking do this?” He’s yelling now. Junmyeon is livid, shaking in anger. Betrayal.

Kris leans back, tilts his head up, and when Junmyeon looks closely he can see tears welling up. He ignores it, thinking that bastard doesn’t deserve any sympathy. 

“I had to,” he says sharply. Junmyeon notices that he’s holding the cube. There’s no goddamn way. “You guys were fucking rotting on that ship, nothing to do. Nothing to accomplish. I’m giving you that now.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Junmyeon yells. “Why are you talking like that was your only option—”

“Because it was!” Junmyeon’s never heard Kris raise his voice before, let alone yell. It stuns him into silence. “A hero without a villain is no hero at all, or whatever that cheesy shit you like to watch says. I’m doing this for you.” He sighs, and shifts just a bit into the light. The wound shows and it makes Junmyeon sick.

“…You called me your space cowboy, now it’s time for you to play space sheriff. I… I’m sorry Junmyeon. Luhan and Tao are too.” Kris hangs up with that, and Junmyeon is left alone. He chokes back his tears but ultimately fails, curling up into himself and sobbing. That’s how the rest of EXO find him afterwards, and it’s quiet that night save for the occasional sob from Junmyeon’s quarters.

☾

The sharp edge from that day dulls to an ache over time. Like a scar that never fully heals, that feels mostly numb until it’s touched slightly wrong and it’s suddenly searing pain. 

Junmyeon would never let his pride admit it, but the ship has been livelier ever since that day. Even all these years later, they still work to chase after Kris. 

Minseok actually stays awake at the dash, plugging in different coordinates as Chanyeol tries to narrow the three’s location. The two work well together, and the co-pilot seat is now Chanyeol’s. Almost as if no one ever sat there before.

Sehun’s been working on his marksmanship. Junmyeon sets aside an hour everyday to help his aim, and he’s proud of Sehun’s improvement. On the rare occasion they track down Kris, Sehun mans the blasters well enough to cripple his ship for at least a couple months.

They have karaoke nights again. Every Thursday, almost just like it used to be. Junmyeon could never bring himself to sing very much, though, even if he did enjoy karaoke. He is just used to singing for one person in particular.

Everything is good though. _If only they were here_ , Junmyeon thinks, _it would be just like before_.

☾

“Junmyeon-hyung!” 

Chanyeol’s voice jolts Junmyeon out of his daydream. He stretches his arms out and grunts before standing up to walk over to the copilot chair. He leans both elbows onto the seat back and looks over at the coordinates Chanyeol is pointing out.

“I think we’ve finally got them. Found their base,” Chanyeol says gruffly. 

He’s shocked. “O-oh. How… how long would it take for us to get there?” Junmyeon asks. He knows he should be more excited, but something in his stomach feels suspiciously like dread.

“At most 4 hours hyung, especially with the new boosters Jongdae built for us.” Chanyeol doesn’t sound that excited either, and Minseok’s face is grim.

He can’t hesitate now. 

“Well, let’s go get those bastards,” Junmyeon announces. His heart’s not in it, though. “I would say a little reunion is in check, wouldn’t you?”

☾

When they reach Kris’s base, it’s a little too quiet. Their presence isn’t a secret, by any means, but there’s no ruckus. No fight. Junmyeon doesn’t like it.

Tao is first to spot them. His eyes go wide as saucers when he sees Sehun, and he sprints back the way he came. Faintly, Junmyeon can hear him call for Kris. They all look at each other and in some sort of quiet agreement, they all run after him. It’s about to begin.

☾

For a fight Junmyeon waited 7 years for, it definitely isn’t that exciting. The ex-EXOs definitely fight back, but 3 v 9 is just plainly unfair. Kris lands a couple solid shots on Yixing, Tao gets Jongin and Luhan knocks out Baekhyun, but they get overwhelmed.

The whole fight is… surprisingly quiet. There is an undercurrent of remorse, and many of them had opportunities for killing shots. No one dies.

Eventually, the fight is done. Dust settles around them, the silence is deadly, and if it were any more stereotypically Western, Junmyeon would change his name to Clint Eastwood. 

Luhan lies unconscious, slumped against Minseok who visibly deliberates embracing him. He settles for a single arm around his chest. Tao is slung across Sehun’s back, barely awake and face buried in the crook of his neck. The two look content in the warmth of 7 lost years. 

Junmyeon stands akimbo above Kris, one laced combat boot holding his chest down. It’s more symbolic than practical, really, they both knew he wouldn’t run away even if he could. 

“It’s finally over, huh? I hope you’re glad with what you’ve done, Kris. You fucking tore us apart,” Junmyeon levels. He’s trying damn hard to not let any hint of emotion through, and he hopes it works.

“And you had your fun, didn’t you?” Kris laughs drily, not scared at all. Never scared when it comes to Junmyeon. “That’s what you’ve always loved, a cat and mouse chase. Don’t lie to me, you love the thrill, love knowing you're better than someone.”

Junmyeon purses his lips, backed into a corner. He’s right, of course. Kris is always right.

“Ok, and now what? I've caught my supposed mortal fucking enemy, what am I supposed to do? Kill you?” 

“I doubt you have the guts for that, space princess.” He sighs and lets his head drop to the dirt with a thud. It makes his under eye scar throb, but he’s used to it. “You let me go, I’ll keep running. Keep Tao and Luhan if you want, but I think we know how my story ends.” 

From behind, Kris can hear some mumbles of dissent. Is that Yixing and Chanyeol? Jongdae? God it’s been so long, he can hardly tell.

“Fucking hell, Kris, you know I can’t do that.” Junmyeon lifts his boot off his chest, much to Kris’s surprise, and crouches down to dust off the footprint he left behind. His fingers linger over his collar, traces over the right shoulder seam, sharing warmth for a little too long. He reaches his hand out and continues, “all of us… we're… we’re like family, you know. More than that. I… I loved you. _Love_ you still, always have and always will—"

"I _know_ you loved me, Junmyeon. I love you too, you know." Kris ignores the hand in front of him and sits up himself, though it hurts every bone in his body. God, he hasn't been this sore in years. "That's why I did this. For you. To give you something to wake up for. To give you a goal to chase, or some philosophical bullshit."

He glances over at Luhan, now barely conscious and Tao, hugging Sehun tightly and sighs. "Fucking traitors," he grumbles. "Seven years, huh? And I somehow couldn't get rid of you. It's almost like we're meant to be, or something," Kris smiles. He knows it'll get under Junmyeon's skin, and that's why he says it. He strolls up to Junmyeon who tries to look entirely unimpressed, but a smile ghosts his lips and gives him away. 

"And what of it, space cowboy? I thought you don't believe in fate."

"I don't. And I don't believe in true love, or soulmates, or destiny either. But…” Kris pauses, and after a couple beats throws one lanky arm over his shoulder. Just like the old days, or something cheesy like that. "I believe in us. I like the idea of us, I think. We can be Bonnie and Clyde meets Cowboy Bebop. Isn't that romantic?"

Junmyeon finally gives in, a grin on his face as he bumps Kris with his elbow. "Gonna rope me in then, huh? You're gonna make me fall in love, hopelessly and head over heels in love, put a bounty on our heads then get us both killed?"

"I've got that first step done princess," Kris winks. He spins Junmyeon around and lifts him up in his arms, as sore as he is. He’s warm, he’s heavy, and he’s real. He'll regret this little stunt when he wakes up tomorrow, but he doesn’t care. "We'll just have to see what happens next."

☾

It's funny, how it goes. How heartbreak turns into "true love" (though Kris would never admit it). How nights spent crying to sleep turn into nights spent in a warm embrace. How they were preparing to die at the hands of the other, but now they face life together. They're yin and yang, they're fire and water. But somehow, by some stroke of cosmic luck, they're perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, i know there’s not a ton of romance but i wanted to play with kris’s platonic love for the exo’s as much as his romantic feelings for suho :)
> 
> also wanted to keep this short and simple, so the pacing is kinda weird but i wanted to keep it under 4000 words


End file.
